What are the Transcontinental Countries of Europe and Asia?

What are the Transcontinental Countries of Europe and Asia?

There are 4 countries that are considered transcontinental between Europe and Asia. These are The Russian Federation, The Republic of Turkey, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, ( Georgia ).

We are taking the literal meaning of Transcontinental means a country’s landmass is contiguously located in more than one continent. There are more nations that are non-contiguous transcontinental countries like Greenland which is a territory of Denmark. However there is a body of water that separates the two parts and therefore disqualifies it from this list.

Russia

Being the largest country in the world you would expect that Russia would span a number of continents. Russia is bordered by 16 countries 8 of which are European and 8 which are considered Asian. Russia even has a transcontinental city. The city of Orenburg has a footprint that spans both Asia and Europe.

Countries that border Russia :

Number

Country

Length of Border (KM)

1

Kazakhstan

7,512

2

China

4,209

3

Mongolia

3,485

4

Ukraine

1,925

5

Finland

1,271

6

Belarus

1,239

7

Georgia

875

8

Azerbaijan

372

9

Estonia

294

10

Latvia

270

11

Lithuania

266

12

Abkhazia

255

13

Poland

204

14

Norway

195

15

South Ossetia

70

16

North Korea

17

Turkey

Being the confluence of many cultures Turkey has always been the crossroads between what is traditionally considered the East and the West. The Bosporus straights that cuts Istanbul in half is also considered one of the meeting points between Europe and Asia. The magical city of Istanbul is probably the most famous transcontinental city. Canakkale City in Turkey also spans two continents, Europe and Asia. There are 8 countries that border Turkey. Two of which are European countries this being Greece and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is also considered a transcontinental country.

Countries that border Turkey :

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Bulgaria

Georgia

Greece

Iran

Iraq

Syria

Kazakhstan

Most western people would not know that Kazakhstan makes it onto this list. Kazakhstan is a Central Asian country but it does have a small part in Eastern Europe. It barely makes it onto the list of countries that span across Europe and Asia. There are two provinces that a firmly transcontinental, they are West Kazakhstan and Atyrau.

Countries that border Kazakhstan :

Russia

Uzbekistan

China

Kyrgyzstan

Turkmenistan

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is another country that is often associated with Europe. However a small part of the country falls north of the Caucasus mountains and thus within Europe. So technically although by the slimmest of margins it is a transcontinental country that spans both Europe and Asia.

Countries that border Azerbaijan :

Russia

Georgia

Armenia

Iran

Turkey

Georgia

If Azerbaijan can make it onto this list then most experts feel Georgia should. While technically not transcontinental the only thing that separates Georgia from Europe proper is the Black Sea. The Caucus mountains are another one of those arbitrary borders that were written into the rule books by early t European geographers. The Georgian people adhere much more to European traits than Asian and look more Hungarian than Mongolian or South West Asian. Georgia is truly a conundrum. The borders of Europe are becoming more flexible as time passes, so it is possible that Georgia will become properly transcontinental in the not to distant future.

Russia

Azerbaijan

Turkey

Armenia

There are many Non-Contiguous Transcontinental Nations

Greece, Cyprus, France, Denmark, Portugal and Spain are all Non-Contiguous Transcontinental Nations. They either have overseas territories or as in the case of Cyprus a disputed military border that makes them nations that spread across multiple landmasses.